The Enemies of Reason (2007) (TV)

Director:

Russell Barnes

Writer:

Richard Dawkins (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Cast

Derren Brown	...	Himself
Richard Dawkins	...	Himself
Chris French	...	Himself (as Dr. Chris French)

Runtime:

UK:60 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (HDCAM) | Color

Company:

IWC Media

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In part one of the series, when Richard Dawkins reads the horoscopes from the magazine, if you look in the window behind him you can see a printed page taped into the magazine.

Think

I don't particularly know anything about the writer/interviewer of this, and I watched this because someone else made me aware of its existence. Here, superstition is investigated, and science praised. Religion is not mentioned much at all beyond the very beginning, and I understand that it has already been explored in a prior effort by the same man who made this. Dawkins delves into the world of psychics, chakras and the like, and both undergoes treatments, readings and such, and talks with the spokespeople of them. He asks all the right questions, and comes across as quite respectful, considering his obviously differing opinion. He is notably less aggressive and overbearing than Michael Moore, who, I'm afraid, is really the only person I can think of to make comparisons to in this regard(I openly admit to not watching that many of these). Rather than attacking with accusations, Richard debates intelligently, and presents the facts, from what I can tell, entirely without bias. He exposes tricks used by some of those who claim to see beyond. He puts into perspective. Even if I did disagree with what he is saying, I'd find it a feat to argue points so logical. What he believes can be proved, and does not require faith, as a stark contrast to a large portion of what he takes a close look at herein. He and his approach are not really condescending, either. I am not aware of multiple versions of this, but what I watched was two parts, each of about 45 minutes, so an hour and a half of highly informational and revealing documentary. It points out that while some of it is harmless, certain of the practices can be harmful, to varying degrees. The production values leave little to be desired. The tone is serious, without being heavy, and allowing some irony. I recommend this to anyone who do or wish to value the tested, and/or tend to meet the opposite with skepticism. 8/10